Great Northern "Home" (22.3 MB) from Trading Twilight For Daylight High Noon Saloon Madison, WI March 9, 2008

There's a lot to say about this show, and probably not enough room to say it, but here goes. This was one of my most anticipated shows in a while, with the Gutter Twins record not just having spent a ton of time playing on my iPod, but also sounding like it had to be majestic live. On top of that, I really enjoyed Great Northern's debut LP and figured this to be a terrific Sunday-night double-bill.

For the most part it was, but I must say I was disappointed to find that Great Northern didn't play as a full band, but as a coffeehouse two-piece, with occasional soft rhythm support. This song, as an example, has a really full, boisterous sound on the record that's not captured in this live setting. In general I can't fault small-time acts for cost-cutting on the road, but it was a step down from what I'd hoped. They were well-received by the crowd, though, which was probably the most attentive audience I've ever seen at a skewing-older High Noon show. There was no ubiquitous layer of chatter, no constant picture-taking, no cellphone douchery -- a nice surprise, to be sure.